Rosh Hashana
Where do sounds go when they die?
By Jeffrey Salkin — September 5, 2021
(RNS) — A visit to the Cemetery of Sounds. With the solid conviction — the sound of the shofar will not wind up there.
‘Unvaccinated people die!’ declare Orthodox rabbis in new video ad
By Yonat Shimron — September 3, 2021
(RNS) — Jewish Americans overall are the most likely US religious group to have received a vaccine. But vaccine hesitancy is far higher among some Orthodox Jews.
Which world do you want to repair?
By Brad Hirschfield — September 1, 2021
(RNS) — The answer is closer than you think.
Synagogues hoped to be in person this year. Now they’re not so sure.
By Yonat Shimron — August 18, 2021
(RNS) — A flood of new cases fueled by the highly contagious delta variant is putting increased pressure on synagogue leaders to scale back High Holy Days services.
Inducting a Jew into the Hall of Fame on Rosh Hashana? What is the MLB thinking?
By Joshua Hammerman — July 9, 2021
(RNS) — What would Sandy Koufax do?
How the shofar emerged as a weapon of spiritual warfare for some evangelicals
By Yonat Shimron — January 6, 2021
(RNS) — Shofar blowing, as in today's Jericho March, has become commonplace in many political demonstrations far removed from any Jewish or Israel-related themes.
Shofar popups and drive-in singalongs: Adapting Jewish ‘Days of Awe’ for COVID-19
By Adelle M. Banks, Alejandra Molina, and Emily McFarlan Miller — September 25, 2020
(RNS) — Since the novel coronavirus put an end to in-person gatherings, synagogues around the country are finding innovative ways to celebrate the High Holy Days and create a sense of community.
Second coronavirus lockdown in Israel frustrates many religious Jews’ plans for High Holidays
By Michele Chabin — September 16, 2020
JERUSALEM (RNS) — The three-week shutdown is timed not only to take advantage of the slow pace of the High Holiday period, but is also an acknowledgment that crowded religious institutions were a coronavirus breeding ground this past winter.
American Jews adapt the Seder for Rosh Hashana in a DIY pivot
By Yonat Shimron — September 15, 2020
(RNS) — The Seder is the main ritual meal celebrated by Jews each year at Passover. But this year some American Jews are using a time-tested at-home ritual for the first night of the Jewish New Year.
Synagogue awards for creative worship on the High Holy Days
By Jeffrey Salkin — September 9, 2020
These synagogues are doing unbelievable things for the High Holy Days. Like, really, unbelievable.
Shofar lessons are becoming a pre-holiday necessity in the age of coronavirus
By Yonat Shimron — September 3, 2020
(RNS) — Jewish law requires that the shofar be heard in person. But with synagogues shuttered because of the coronavirus, many Jews are dusting off old ritual objects and taking online lessons so they can produce that clarion wail.
Four ways to keep anti-Semitism from becoming the new normal
By Noam E. Marans — October 7, 2019
(RNS) — There is a lot at stake for all of us. Anti-Semitism endangers not only Jews but the societies in which they live.
The idea that God — or someone — is always watching comes to life with technology
By Menachem Wecker — October 3, 2019
(RNS) — Modern technology has brought the idea that a higher power is always watching — and has a recording device handy — to life.
At services this Rosh Hashana, a familiar social justice refrain
By Yonat Shimron — September 30, 2019
(RNS) — Over the past year, American Jews have called for shutting down Immigration and Customs Enforcement camps, addressing white nationalism, protecting abortion rights and scores of other liberal agenda items.
Unetanah Tokef with hyperlinks: Adapting a High Holiday prayer to today’s world
By Jan Zauzmer — September 27, 2019
(RNS) — The fearsome possibilities meditated in the High Holidays prayer Unetanah Tokef strike an elegant balance between predetermination and free will. Here, a version annotated for our times.
